Huawei P20 Review

• Overview
• Design and Build Quality
• Display
• Performance
• Software and User Interface
• Camera
• Battery Life
• Connectivity and Networking
• Additional Features
• Comparison with Other Related Phones
• Pros and Cons
• Conclusion

Overview

The Huawei P20 is a sleek and powerful smartphone that has captured the attention of gadget enthusiasts worldwide. With its stunning glass back, aluminum frame, and water-repellent coating, it is both stylish and practical. The 5.8-inch IPS LCD display offers a vibrant and immersive viewing experience, while the Kirin 970 chipset ensures smooth performance. The Leica dual camera system, featuring a 12MP and 20MP lens, delivers exceptional photo quality, and the 24MP front camera is perfect for capturing stunning selfies. The Huawei P20 comes in various storage and RAM configurations, offering options to suit different needs. With a Li-Po 3400mAh battery and fast charging capabilities, you can stay powered up all day. Available in Twilight, Black, Midnight Blue, and Pink Gold, the Huawei P20 is a premium smartphone that offers excellent value for its price.

Design and Build Quality

The Huawei P20 boasts an impressive design that exudes premium aesthetics and a sleek form factor. With its glass front and back panels and aluminum frame, this smartphone offers a visually striking and modern look. The device comes in various colors, including Twilight, Black, Midnight Blue, and Pink Gold, allowing users to choose a style that suits their preferences. The dimensions of 149.1 x 70.8 x 7.7 mm and weight of 165g make it comfortable to hold and use with one hand.

The P20's construction is well-built and demonstrates Huawei's commitment to quality. The water-repellent coating adds durability and provides protection against accidental spills or splashes. The back panel features a smooth texture, offering a comfortable grip and minimizing the risk of accidental slips. The finishing touches on the device are impeccable, showcasing attention to detail and ensuring a seamless fit and finish.

The placement of buttons and controls on the P20 is well thought out, allowing for easy access and intuitive operation. The bezels surrounding the 5.8-inch IPS LCD display are minimal, maximizing the screen-to-body ratio and providing an immersive viewing experience. The frame adds sturdiness to the device, enhancing its robustness.

Overall, the Huawei P20 combines a premium look and feel with a sturdy build and impressive design elements. Its sleek and ergonomic design, along with its portability, makes it a desirable choice for users looking for a high-quality smartphone.

Display

The Huawei P20 boasts a 5.8-inch IPS LCD display with a screen resolution of 1080 x 2240 pixels, resulting in a pixel density of approximately 429 pixels per inch. This ensures sharp and detailed visuals on the screen. The aspect ratio of 18.7:9 provides a taller and narrower display, which is great for multimedia consumption and multitasking. The display offers accurate colors and vibrant visuals, thanks to its excellent color accuracy and color vibrancy.

In terms of brightness levels, the Huawei P20 offers sufficient brightness for indoor use, but it may struggle slightly under direct sunlight due to its average outdoor visibility. The touch responsiveness of the display is excellent, providing smooth and fluid navigation.

To protect the display, the Huawei P20 comes with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass on the front. This adds durability and scratch resistance to the screen, ensuring it stays in good condition over time. The viewing angles of the display are wide, allowing for comfortable viewing from different angles without significant color distortion.

The Huawei P20 does not feature an always-on display, but it does offer a blue light filter to reduce eye strain during night-time use. The adaptive brightness feature adjusts the screen brightness according to the ambient lighting conditions, providing optimal visibility without draining the battery.

Overall, the Huawei P20's display offers a satisfying visual experience with its high-resolution, vibrant colors, and wide viewing angles. While it may not excel in outdoor visibility, it compensates with its excellent touch responsiveness and display protection.

Performance

The Huawei P20 boasts impressive performance capabilities backed by its Kirin 970 chipset and Mali-G72 MP12 GPU. According to benchmark tests and performance metrics, this smartphone delivers a smooth and lag-free user experience. The octa-core CPU, consisting of four Cortex-A73 cores clocked at 2.4 GHz and four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz, ensures fast and efficient multitasking performance. Users can expect quick app loading speeds and seamless navigation throughout the device's interface.

In terms of gaming performance, the Huawei P20 excels with its powerful GPU. The Mali-G72 MP12 GPU delivers excellent graphics scores and is capable of handling demanding games with ease. Gaming benchmarks highlight the device's ability to render high-quality graphics and provide an immersive gaming experience. The Huawei P20's GPU efficiency allows for smooth gameplay even during extended gaming sessions.

Furthermore, the Huawei P20 showcases effective system optimization and thermal management. This ensures that the device operates at its peak performance without overheating issues. The smartphone also performs well in synthetic benchmarks, showcasing its overall processor efficiency.

Overall, the Huawei P20 offers a strong performance package that caters to both everyday tasks and gaming needs. Its chipset performance, GPU benchmarks, and processor efficiency contribute to a smooth user experience, while its gaming capabilities and graphics scores enhance the gaming experience. With its multitasking capabilities and smooth performance, the Huawei P20 is a reliable choice for users seeking a high-performing smartphone.

Software and User Interface

The Huawei P20 runs on the Android 8.1 Oreo operating system, which can be upgraded to Android 9.0 Pie with the EMUI 9.1 interface. This combination provides users with a smooth and user-friendly experience. The EMUI interface adds a layer of customization to the Android OS, allowing users to personalize their device to their liking. It offers a clean and intuitive interface that is easy to navigate.

One notable aspect of the software is the pre-installed apps. Huawei has included a range of useful apps, such as the Huawei AppGallery, which is their own app store. This provides users with access to a wide range of applications and games. However, some users may find that there are a few pre-installed apps that they do not need or use, which can be considered bloatware.

The Huawei P20 also comes with a variety of features that enhance the user experience. The device supports gesture navigation, allowing users to navigate the interface with swipes and gestures instead of traditional buttons. This adds convenience and makes the device feel more modern.

Overall, the software on the Huawei P20 offers a user-friendly interface with customization options and a range of pre-installed apps. While there may be some bloatware, the overall experience is smooth and intuitive. The device's software is regularly updated by Huawei, ensuring that users have access to the latest features and security updates.

Camera

The camera of the Huawei P20 boasts impressive specifications and features, making it a standout feature of the device. With a dual-camera setup consisting of a 12-megapixel primary lens and a 20-megapixel black and white lens, the P20 offers versatility in capturing stunning photographs. The primary lens has a wide aperture of f/1.8, allowing for excellent low-light sensitivity and depth of field control. The black and white lens, with its wider aperture of f/1.6, enhances low-light performance and adds depth to monochrome images. The camera also features optical image stabilization (OIS) and phase detection autofocus (PDAF), ensuring sharpness and clarity in every shot.

In terms of image quality, the Huawei P20 excels in various photography scenarios. It performs exceptionally well in daylight photography, capturing vibrant colors and excellent detail. With its advanced sensor size and dynamic range, the P20 delivers stunningly crisp and well-balanced images in both indoor and outdoor settings. The camera's natural colors and accurate white balance further enhance the overall image quality.

The Huawei P20 also offers a variety of camera features and modes to enhance photography experiences. The portrait mode utilizes AI scene recognition to produce professional-looking bokeh effects and beautifully blurred backgrounds. HDR mode enhances the dynamic range of photos, ensuring well-exposed images in high-contrast scenes. The panorama mode allows for capturing wide-angle shots, perfect for landscapes and cityscapes. Additionally, the pro mode gives users full manual control over settings like ISO, shutter speed, and focus, catering to photography enthusiasts.

When it comes to video recording, the Huawei P20 impresses with its ability to shoot 4K videos with excellent detail and clarity. The camera's video stabilization feature ensures smooth footage, reducing shakes and blurriness. Slow-motion video and time-lapse capabilities add creativity and variety to video recordings. The P20 supports multiple video formats, allowing for easy sharing and compatibility across different devices. Overall, the camera of the Huawei P20 is a standout feature, delivering exceptional image and video quality in various shooting conditions.

Battery Life

The Huawei P20 is equipped with a non-removable Li-Po 3400 mAh battery, which offers decent battery life. With normal usage, the battery can last a full day without needing to be recharged. The device also supports fast charging technology, allowing for quick recharging when needed. Additionally, the P20 does not support wireless charging.

In terms of battery performance, the P20 has been praised for its power efficiency and optimization features. The device is equipped with a Kirin 970 chipset, which helps to optimize power consumption and prolong battery life. Users can also take advantage of the battery saver mode to further extend the battery endurance.

While the P20 does not have the largest battery capacity on the market, it offers a good balance between performance and power efficiency. The device's battery management system ensures that power is allocated efficiently, reducing unnecessary battery drain.

Overall, the Huawei P20's battery is reliable and provides satisfactory battery life for most users. With its fast charging capabilities and power optimization features, it offers a convenient and efficient battery experience.

Connectivity and Networking

The Huawei P20 offers a wide range of connectivity options, making it a versatile device for staying connected on the go. It supports network compatibility with GSM, HSPA, and LTE, ensuring reliable connectivity in various regions. The device also features dual SIM capabilities, allowing users to easily switch between two SIM cards for added convenience. In terms of wireless connectivity, the P20 supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, enabling fast and stable internet connections. The device also supports Bluetooth 4.2, A2DP, LE, EDR, and aptX HD, ensuring seamless pairing with other Bluetooth-enabled devices. Additionally, the P20 comes with NFC, which enables easy and secure mobile payments. For data transfer and charging, the device is equipped with a USB Type-C 3.1 port. This USB-C port offers faster data speeds and more efficient charging compared to traditional USB ports. The P20 also features GPS and GLONASS for accurate navigation and positioning. With its extensive connectivity options, the Huawei P20 allows users to stay connected, navigate with ease, and enjoy fast data speeds.

Additional Features

The Huawei P20 comes with a range of standout features that make it a top choice for smartphone enthusiasts. One notable feature is its water resistance, which is achieved through a water-repellent coating on the device. This means that the P20 can withstand splashes and light rain without any damage. In addition to water resistance, the P20 also offers dust resistance, ensuring that dust particles do not affect its performance. The device is not only dustproof but also features an IP rating, indicating its level of protection against dust and water.

Furthermore, the Huawei P20 supports wireless charging, specifically Qi wireless charging. This means that users can conveniently charge their device without the need for cables. The P20 is equipped with an accelerometer and gyroscope, along with additional sensors that make up a comprehensive sensor suite. These advanced sensors enable various functionalities, such as motion detection and environmental sensing. Overall, the Huawei P20 offers a range of additional features that enhance its usability and durability.

Comparison with Other Related Phones

When comparing the Huawei P20 with related gadgets in the market, it becomes evident that Huawei has positioned itself as a strong competitor in the smartphone industry. The P20 offers a range of features and specifications that rival other flagship phones on the market.

In terms of design, the Huawei P20 stands out with its glass front and back and aluminum frame, giving it a premium and sleek look. It is comparable to other high-end smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S9 and iPhone X in terms of build quality and aesthetics.

The P20's display is a 5.8-inch IPS LCD with a resolution of 1080 x 2240 pixels, providing sharp and vibrant visuals. While it may not have the curved edge-to-edge display of the Samsung Galaxy S9 or the OLED display of the iPhone X, it still offers a great viewing experience.

In terms of performance, the P20 is equipped with Huawei's own Kirin 970 chipset and an octa-core processor. It delivers smooth and fast performance, comparable to other flagship devices on the market. Benchmark comparisons show that the P20 performs well, with high scores on platforms like AnTuTu and GeekBench.

The P20's camera capabilities are another strong point. It features a dual-camera setup co-engineered with Leica, consisting of a 12 MP main camera and a 20 MP black and white camera. This combination allows for stunning photography with great detail and depth. The P20's camera competes with other top-tier smartphones like the Google Pixel 3 and iPhone XS.

When considering pricing, the Huawei P20 offers good value for money. It is priced lower than its direct competitors, making it an attractive option for consumers who want flagship-level features at a more affordable price point.

In terms of market competition, Huawei has managed to gain a significant market share in recent years. Its competitive advantage lies in its ability to offer high-quality devices with cutting-edge features at a more accessible price compared to other premium brands.

Overall, the Huawei P20 stands out in the market due to its impressive camera capabilities, solid performance, and attractive pricing. It competes well with other flagship devices and offers a compelling option for consumers looking for a high-end smartphone without breaking the bank.

Pros and Cons

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Huawei P20 is a flagship smartphone that offers a stunning design and impressive camera capabilities. With its glass front and back, aluminum frame, and water-repellent coating, the P20 exudes elegance and durability. The camera system, developed in collaboration with Leica, delivers exceptional image quality and a variety of features to enhance your photography experience. The Kirin 970 chipset ensures smooth performance, and the EMUI 9.1 based on Android 8.1 provides a user-friendly interface. While lacking a headphone jack and expandable storage, the P20 compensates with its fast charging capabilities and long battery life. Overall, the Huawei P20 is a solid choice for those seeking a high-end smartphone with excellent camera capabilities.